Yang Mian Mian is one of China's most powerful businesswomen. In January 2005, she became chairman and an executive director at Haier, the world's fourth-largest maker of household appliances, such as refrigerators and washing machines. Last year, the Chinese company angled for U.S. white goods maker Maytag but was outbid by Whirlpool. Haier's Hong Kong-listed Haier Electronics Group also has a mobile handset division, which caused the firm some pain last year: Sales in this group dropped 16% from the previous year, to $640 million. Overall losses amounted to $56 million. To turn itself around, Haier Electronics last year added a top-loading washing machine business and announced in April that it would shed its ailing mobile phone division. "Our long-term goal is to become a global top three white goods manufacturer," wrote Yang in an April letter to shareholders. Yang graduated from what is now known as Shandong University, in eastern China, in 1963; she joined the Qingdao Refrigerator General Factory, which later became known as Haier, in 1984. —Susan Kitchens

Published sources include the women's official biographies, Factiva, International Who's Who of 2005, Marquis Who's Who, World Almanac of Famous People, Palgrave Who's Who 2005, the Congressional Yellow Book, the Judicial Yellow Book, Europa World Year Book, Hoover's Online, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, World Economic Forum, the World Book Encyclopedia. Rankings generated by combining various financial figures with other media and biography metrics; global media mentions from Factiva.

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